OAS Issues Ultimatum to Haiti Coup Leaders

A multinational team of diplomats Saturday gave an ultimatum to leaders of Haiti’s military coup to restore ousted President Jean-Bertrand Aristide to power or face severe political and economic sanctions.

The stern warning was delivered to Gen. Raoul Cedras, the army commander who was called to a second session with the eight-nation task force from the Organization of American States.

All OAS foreign ministers probably will be summoned to a meeting in Washington this week to consider the next step in the Haitian crisis, an OAS spokesman said.

The OAS task force flew back to Washington after concluding two days of discussions with Haitian political and business leaders.

Cedras, meeting with reporters earlier, appeared to leave the door slightly open for Aristide’s return if there is a national consensus in Haiti for such a step.

Only two days ago he said restoration of Aristide, who was allowed to fly out of the country early Tuesday, was non-negotiable.

“If he (Aristide) were to return, that would be after a consensus realized through all sectors of the country,” Cedras said.

But the general renewed his charges that the 38-year-old priest-president had violated Haiti’s constitution and compared him to the hated dictator Francois (Papa Doc) Duvalier.

“If the army had opposed Duvalier we wouldn’t have had 30 years of dictatorship,” Cedras said. “It’s the same situation we are seeing now.”

Diplomatic sources said Haiti faces a dilemma because either the return of Aristide to power or his failure to come back to office could produce a violent backlash by his supporters.

“If the President does not return, the country will be in flames,” said one Haitian worker.

But army officers and others in the private sector believe that Aristide’s restoration might spark violent retribution by his ardent supporters.

Meantime, the army broadened its crackdown on protests Saturday by banning news broadcasts on independent radio stations on grounds that army officers regarded them as incendiary.

Earlier, public meetings were forbidden, and a 7 p.m.-to-5 a.m. curfew was ordered.

Witnesses said a group of soldiers fired shots at equipment in the station of Radio Lumiere and threatened one of its reporters because of his post-coup broadcasts.

Radio National, the government-operated station, aired anti-Aristide commentaries, however.

Sporadic shooting was reported in several neighborhoods but a heavy downpour Friday night limited military activity.

A hotel worker said shooting stopped abruptly near his home when the rains started, adding: “We were saved by the deluge.”

Meantime, facing a sixth day with stores and offices closed, residents of this capital city poured from their homes in search of food and other essentials.

A few small stores reopened, and vegetables, bread and other staples were sold in an open-air market. Traffic remained light as military patrols roamed the streets.

The few gas stations that were open created bottlenecks as dozens of cars lined up to fill their tanks.,

The city hospital morgue opened to allow families to claim the bodies of 85 people who died of bullet wounds there since the violence began Sunday night. Overall, the death toll is believed to be in the hundreds, but it was impossible to verify a more exact number.

The OAS talks were conducted amid tight security at the deserted airport, which was officially closed all week.

Prime Minister Rene Preval and three other Cabinet officials came out of hiding to meet with the OAS representatives. Preval was surrounded by bodyguards.

Officials of eight political parties who met with the OAS delegation also were cool toward Aristide’s reinstatement because of his pre-coup conduct.

“Most of us in the delegation here do not want him to return,” said Marc Bazin, runner-up in last December’s election that Aristide won by a landslide.

But the OAS delegation took a hard line against negotiations with the army, members of Parliament or political leaders who alleged that Aristide encouraged mob violence against his opponents.

Bolivian Foreign Minister Carlos Iturralde Ballivian, chairman of the OAS team, said the 34 nations in the organization are unanimous in condemning the coup.

“We are making very strong statements on what the OAS resolution states,” he told reporters.

“We need to return to the constitutional process (in Haiti). We are promoting the return of President Aristide. . . . We do not have very much leeway.”

If these demands are not complied with, Iturralde added, the OAS charter provides that other measures, such as economic or political sanctions, can be taken by its member states.

But Iturralde said the talks here showed that resolving the crisis will be a “complex, sensitive” task.

Before the sessions began on Saturday, Argentine Foreign Minister Guido di Tella said he was somewhat hopeful after Friday’s two-hour discussion with Cedras.

“He (Cedras) is an intelligent man,” Di Tella said. “He has tremendous problems. Now he is aware of the seriousness of our actions.”

But the Argentine diplomat also indicated that charges of human rights violations against Aristide will be considered as well.

“These allegations . . . are part of the whole picture,” he said.